Interpersonal Problems and Their Mental Health Correlates: A Meta-Analytic Review

Interpersonal relationships have long been considered fundamental to understanding mental health and psychological functioning. Among various aspects of these relationships, interpersonal problems seem particularly significant in relation to mental health. This meta-analytic review aims to summarize the associations between interpersonal problems and multiple domains of mental health based on naturalistic, observational data from both clinical and nonclinical populations. Focusing on studies using the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP), we examined the cross-sectional associations between interpersonal problems and general psychological distress, depressive symptoms, symptoms of anxiety, positive and negative emotions, well-being, and perceived stress. A three-level meta-analytic model was employed to account for the nested data structure, and moderator analyses examined differences between clinical and nonclinical samples. Across all domains, 120 effect sizes from 66 studies were included. Significant positive correlations emerged between interpersonal problems and general psychological distress (r = 0.565, p < 0.001), depression (r = 0.473, p < 0.001), anxiety (r = 0.454, p < 0.001), and negative emotions (r = 0.486, p < 0.001). In contrast, significant negative correlations were found with positive emotions (r = -0.224, p = 0.010) and well-being (r = -0.372, p = 0.004). There were too few studies available to meta-analyze perceived stress. Clinical status did not significantly moderate these associations, suggesting that the observed associations are relatively consistent across populations. These findings underscore the relevance of interpersonal problems, as measured by the IIP, for understanding mental health and provide evidence-based estimates of these associations.